Rafael Nadal latest: Mum and baby doing well after birth of tennis star’s first child

Rafael Nadal and Mery Perello

Rafael Nadal is a parent after his wife Mery Perello reportedly gave birth in a private clinic in Mallorca’s capital of Palma on Saturday.

Spanish newspaper, Diario de Mallorca, broke the news on Saturday afternoon.

The birth is understood to have run smoothly and an announcement from the couple is expected shortly.

Mery Perello had been booked into the private clinic for a few weeks prior to the birth.

A source told the Spanish publication Diario de Mallorca: “Both the mum and her baby, born in the 37th week of her pregnancy, are doing well.

“The birth took place in a private clinic on the island where Mery had to remain under observation and rest completely in the last few weeks.

The heightened interest in the Spanish superstar’s private life is something he hasn’t been entirely comfortable with but he is delighted to be a father.

Nadal dodged questions of any kind of gender reveal, insisting the health of his wife and baby were his only concerns.

“If all goes well, I’m going to be a father,” Nadal said in June after reports broke the news that his wife was pregnant against his wishes.

“I’m not used to talking about my private life. We live calmer with a lower profile. I don’t expect that my life will change much with it.”

Despite being home to a number of high-profile athletes, Spain has typically not experienced the plague of paparazzi photo-journalists pestering the rich and famous.

Lionel Messi has notably struggled to adjust to the levels of press attention in France and their desire to pry into private lives.

Nadal has already asked for tabloid press in Spain to back off after revent attempts to gain a scoop on the pregnancy news.

Perello herself prefers to stay out of the limelight and mostly away from the court, barring a few big match appearances.

In 2018, she told the Telegraph: “Travelling together everywhere, even if I could, would not be good either for him or for me.

‘He needs his space when he is competing, and just the idea of me hanging around waiting on his needs all day wears me out. It would asphyxiate me.

‘And then he would have to be worrying about me … No. If I followed him everywhere, I think there’s a risk we might stop getting along.”

Rafael Nadal and his camp have not made a statement regarding the birth at this time.

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